CSS 305 – Interdisciplinary Information Technology:

Computer Animations

General Information

Instructor: Kelvin Sung

In Class Quiz: First the good news: there is no exam in this class! Yeah! Now the bad news, there are 4-6 in-class pop quiz. There will be no advanced warnings given. The quiz will always be given at the end of classes, last about 30 minutes, each weigh about 3-5%. Now, more good news, the quiz will be open book, open computer, open anything you want to open. The quiz will typically consist of two parts: written part, and practical part. For example:

Written: describe two attributes in a modern 3D application project file system.

e.g. Your answer: scene files, texture files, etc.

Practical: create a project using our 3D application system that utilizes the above attributes, save the project and submit the entire project so that I can grade it.

e.g. Your answer: you will create a Maya scene, with a sphere, with a file texture mapped. Save the project, zip the project and submit it electronically.

You see, this is what this class is all about: learn some theory about computer animation, understand why they are so, and practice simple implementation of the theory. We can pretend it is real hard work, and secretly enjoy the learning process! J

No Late Assignments: There will be no late assignments accepted, period. Let me put this in another way, there will be no late assignments accepted, period. This applies to every single project. Pay attention to the deadline on the assignments (including the time), there will be no late assignments accepted. Refer to the schedule provided, Projects are always due at the beginning of the lecture on the days they are due. We will start examine solutions to the projects immediately after the projects are due. So, you see, there are no possibilities for late assignments. Let me explain this again, there will be no late assignments accepted. I am actually a reasonable person, come talk to me about exceptional circumstances.

Late to classes: It does not bother me, just don’t disturb anyone. On the days the projects are due, the due time for hardcopy is the beginning of class time. So, you may wish to make sure you are on time for those classes. If you want to leave early, it would be very nice if you could give me advance warning. If that’s too much trouble, or if you forgot, don’t worry, just don’t disturb anyone and leave quietly.

Lecturing and use of lab machine: We will typically spend some lecture time learning new concepts and then we will practice the concepts on the machines.

Learning new concepts is like any of your classes, I believe, listen carefully, take notes, ask questions, participate in discussions are the best ways to learn.

Practicing the concepts is when we all use the machines in front us. Typically, I will demonstrate how a concept is implemented in the computer program, and you will experiment with the concept. This part of the lecture is typically noisier with people typing and with loud questions and answers and discussions.

You are welcome to try out stuff when I am teaching the concepts. Be warned though, often times my descriptions go by fast and you may end up missing important parts of the lectures. In all cases, if the class is not practicing concepts and your machine using is disturbing the class (e.g. loud typing, and/or mouse clicking) you will be told to stop. Don’t worry. You can try things out during lab hours, and/or during “practicing” part of the lecture.

At any point if you find yourself surfing the net; or reading email; or doing anything un-related to our class on the machine, please do stop and think why you come to class. If you think the lecture is not worth your attention, please do provide me with constructive/description suggestions. I will do my best to adjust and accommodate.

If I find you surfing the net; and/or reading email; and/or doing anything un-related to our class on the machine in front of you, I will point out that you can do exactly the same thing in other computer labs, and suggest you go to another lab to continue your work: you will be asked to leave.

Commitments and such: I am usually very easy going. I like relaxed classrooms for learning and will try my best to create such an environment. Please do not confuse relax environment with relax requirements. I work very hard, and expect students to work as hard. The software we will be using in this class is a highly sophisticated application designed for professionals. This is really cool, for we have the opportunity to experience with the state of the arts in animation creation. This is not so cool because the initial learning curve of the application is very steep. Please try to dedicate time (especially in the beginning of the quarter) to learn the software so that you can use it to create cool stuff later on in the quarter. I will put in my very best to try to make this class a worthwhile learning experience for you. BUT, remember, you are the only that can do the actually learning,

Collaboration: You are expected to work with one partner on each project. Due to the complexity and sheer amount of work involved, collaboration in media content creation is every bit as important as the actual technical contents themselves. This is saying, it is usually not good enough that you are very good at what you are doing you must know how to work with others. Having said this, if you insist on working alone, you can. But you must work on the exact same project. If, for some reasons, 3 of you wish to be in the same group, please come talk to me, I will set up extra work for your group in each project.

Since all projects involve computer animation creation based on technical specifications, you are free to create any media content, as long as your content satisfies the technical specifications. This is great! Because you are free to be creative, and please do, do so! After every project is graded, I will demonstrate those that are especially creative in class to inspire the rest of us.

WATCH OUT! Because all of us are free to be creative, I do expect all projects to look different! You are welcome to discuss the projects with fellow students, provided you do not exchange designs, or copy scene files. You may always discuss any problem with me. You are expected to subscribe to the highest standards of honesty. Failure to do this constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism includes copying projects in part or in total, verbal dissemination of detailed designs, and results, or using solutions from other students, solution sets, other textbooks, etc. without crediting these sources by name. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class, any more than it would be in the “real world”. Any student guilty of plagiarism will be subject to disciplinary action. In the “real world”, you are responsible for the security of your intellectual properties. In our case, you are responsible for the security of your source scene files (either on public hard disk, or on printed copies). Remember to erase your work from all public hard disks, and to dispose the hard copies of your source with care. If someone did not break any law, and has identical solution as yours, you are a suspect of plagiarism.